From the start, I will freely admit that I don't know jack about a diesel engine although my ignorance will be evident. I just bought a '99 7.3 with 116k miles on it. Is it normal for there to be a thin film of oil on flat surfaces under the hood? Or did I buy a problem?

 

From my experience, any diesel is likely to have a thin film of oil on everything under the hood. It's sort of the nature of the nasty beasts. You can search on here for the CCV mod which will help clean things up under the hood a bit.

 

Watch the oil level and for puddles. If there is no evidence of oil loss, just think of it as rust inhibitor.

 

Thanks for the info. That is what I was hoping to hear.

 

I had a minor oil leak at the ccv. It just would breath through the worn out o-rings. Replaced those and cleaned up the engine, no problem since then.